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Category: Jennifer Granholm

Dick DeVos has spent years running businesses, most notably during his time at Amway Corporation and now as CEO of The Windquest Group. But he’s also done quite a job finding professionals to run his subsidiary businesses which are part of The Windquest Group’s holdings, including home storage manufacturer The Stow Company.

DeVos recently hired Phil Dolci as the new CEO there to replace the retiring Frank Newman. Dolci has a great track record of running retail companies, including Kraft and Dean Foods, Sanford L.P., and most recently Crosman Corporation. DeVos has highly commended Dolci’s resume and is hopeful about the future of The Stow Company.

Dick DeVos spent many years at Amway Corporation, the company his father Richard DeVos Sr. co-founded with Jay Van Andel. This company is a prominent multilevel marketing company, which means they sell products directly to customers who can then become independent business owners and resell them to their own customers.

Dick got his bachelor’s degree at Northwood University, later going back to finish his master’s and doctorates, and he served as company vice president and later CEO during the 30 years at Amway. As CEO, he helped establish a parent company, Alticor and also grew the company overseas into 50 new countries. The company made billions in sales under Dick’s leadership. Learn more about Dick Devos: http://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/topic/excellence_in_philanthropy/interview_with_betsy_devos

Dick and his wife Betsy not only run The Windquest Group, they’ve started up a family foundation and been involved in philanthropic endeavors for over 20 years. Their primary efforts have been to change the education landscape in Michigan, and have done so through starting up scholarship funds such as Children First America and the Education Freedom Fund. Read more: Dick DeVos – President @ Windquest Group | CrunchBase

At one time they tried to get legislation for private school state vouchers passed, but came up just short. They have openly supported charter schools and even started one in 2010 called the West Michigan Aviation Academy.

The DeVos’s have a long history with the Michigan Republican Party, including Betsy DeVos’s time as chair of the party. Dick won election to the Michigan State Board of Education in 1990, and later ran for governor in 2006 but lost to incumbent Jennifer Granholm.

He did help pass right-to-work state legislation in 2012, and has donated to non-profit groups including Heritage Foundation and Action Institute. Dick is also a recipient of the Spectrum Health Foundation’s Art of Giving Award, and Betsy was recently tapped to serve as Secretary of Education in the upcoming Trump Administration.